According to The Mortgage Lender - "debt solution providers" for those in "special circumstances" - young people are expressing their bravado by taking their mobile phone bills, shredding them, packing them into the carriers' pipes, and lighting them. Except it's not funny.

A County Court Judgement (CCJ) can be recorded against their name without them even knowing about it because of a small unpaid mobile phone bill, for example, or outstanding student loan - in many cases, purely because the company has been unable to make contact to arrange settlement because of change of address.

Then - when you're all grown-up and thinking about ditching your Nikes for your first pair of proper shoes - up it comes and bites you on the arse... all those affordable homes courtesy of Gordon Brown, but you can't get a mortgage. Yeah... thought you were clever sticking it to the man... now look at you! Needless to say, I'm paraphrasing.

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